Limburgish ( li, Limburgs or ; nl, Limburgs ; german: Limburgisch ; french: Limbourgeois ), also called Limburgan,
Limburgian,
or Limburgic,
is a West Germanic language spoken in the Dutch and Belgian provinces of
Limburg and in the neighbouring regions of Germany.
It shares characteristics with both
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
and
Dutch but has unique features such as
tonality
Tonality is the arrangement of pitches and/or chords of a musical work in a hierarchy of perceived relations, stabilities, attractions and directionality. In this hierarchy, the single pitch or triadic chord with the greatest stability is ca ...
. Within the modern communities of the Belgian and Dutch provinces of Limburg, intermediate
idiolects are also very common, which combine standard
Dutch with the
accent and some grammatical and pronunciation tendencies derived from Limburgish. This "Limburgish Dutch" is confusingly also often referred to simply as "Limburgish", although in Belgium such intermediate languages tend to be called ("in-between language"), no matter the exact dialect/language with which standard Dutch is combined.
Although frequently misunderstood as such, Limburgish does not refer to the regional variation of
Dutch spoken in
Dutch Limburg and
Belgian Limburg. Since Limburgish is still the mother tongue of many inhabitants in the aforementioned region, Limburgish grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation can have a significant impact on the way locals speak Dutch in public life.
Etymology
The name ''Limburgish'' (and variants of it) derives only indirectly from the now Belgian town of
Limbourg (''Laeboer'' in Limburgish, IPA: ), which was the capital of the
Duchy of Limburg during the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
. More directly it is derived from the more modern name of the
Province of Limburg (1815–39) in the
Kingdom of the Netherlands
, national_anthem = )
, image_map = Kingdom of the Netherlands (orthographic projection).svg
, map_width = 250px
, image_map2 = File:KonDerNed-10-10-10.png
, map_caption2 = Map of the four constituent countries shown to scale
, capital = ...
, which has been split today into a
Belgian Limburg and a
Dutch Limburg. In the area around the old Duchy of Limburg the main language today is French, but there is also a particular cluster of Limburgish (or Limburgish-like, depending on definitions) dialects which are sometimes described as "
Low Dietsch
Low Dietsch ( nl, Platdiets, li, Platduutsj, french: francique rhéno-mosan or ) refers to a handful of transitional Limburgish– Ripuarian dialects spoken in a number of towns and villages (e.g., Gemmenich, Hombourg, Montzen, Welkenraedt).
Th ...
".
People from Limburg usually call their language ''Plat'', the same as
Low German
:
:
:
:
:
(70,000)
(30,000)
(8,000)
, familycolor = Indo-European
, fam2 = Germanic
, fam3 = West Germanic
, fam4 = North Sea Germanic
, ancestor = Old Saxon
, ancestor2 = Middle ...
speakers do. This ''plat'' refers simply to the fact that the language is spoken in the low plains country, as opposed to the use of "High" in "
High German languages
The High German dialects (german: hochdeutsche Mundarten), or simply High German (); not to be confused with Standard High German which is commonly also called ''High German'', comprise the varieties of German spoken south of the Benrath and ...
", which are derived from dialects spoken in the more mountainous southerly regions. The word "plat" is therefore associated both with the ''platteland'' (Dutch: "countryside") and can in effect sometimes mean simply "slang" in the sense of any very informal, rustic or locally unique words or expressions.
An older Dutch term for the
West Germanic languages and dialects of ordinary people was ''Dietsch'' or ''Duutsch'', as still found in the term Low Dietsch (''Plattdütsch''). This term is originally derived from Proto-Germanic "
þiudiskaz", meaning "of the people". (This word has also been preserved in the Italian word for German, which is "Tedesco", and the English word "Dutch", referring to people from the Netherlands.)
Extent
Limburgish has partially overlapping definition areas, depending on the criteria used:
# All dialects spoken within the political boundary of the two Limburg provinces.
# Limburgish according to Jo Daan, the associative "arrow" method of Meertens Institute.
# South Lower Franconian, isogloss definition between the
Uerdingen and
Benrath line
In German linguistics, the Benrath line (german: Benrather Linie) is the ''maken–machen'' isogloss: dialects north of the line have the original in ''maken'' (to make), while those to the south have the innovative (''machen''). The Line runs f ...
s by Wenker, Schrijnen and Goossens (University of Leuven).
# Western limit of Limburgish pitch accent (Largest lexical distance from Standard Dutch, Hoppenbrouwers)
#
Southeast Limburgish dialect (Wintgens and Frins); this includes a part of the
Ripuarian language
Ripuarian ( ; also ''Ripuarian Franconian''; german: Ripuarisch, , ''ripuarische Mundart, ripuarischer Dialekt, ripuarisch-fränkische Mundart, Ribuarisch'', nl, Ripuarisch , ''Noordmiddelfrankisch'') is a German dialect group, part of the W ...
in Germany.
History and classification
Except for the Southeast Limburgish dialect, Modern Limburgish descends from some of the dialects that formed the offspring of
Old Dutch
In linguistics, Old Dutch (Dutch: Oudnederlands) or Old Low Franconian (Dutch: Oudnederfrankisch) is the set of Franconian dialects (i.e. dialects that evolved from Frankish) spoken in the Low Countries during the Early Middle Ages, from aro ...
in the
Early Middle Ages
The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Mi ...
, its history being at least as long as that of other
Low Franconian languages, of which some eventually yielded
Standard Dutch. Being a variety of Franconian descent, Limburgish can today be considered as a regional language overarched by two succeeding ''
Dachsprachen'', which are Dutch in Belgium and the Netherlands and German in Germany.
Under the influence of the
Merovingian
The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from the middle of the 5th century until 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the Franks and northern Gaul ...
and especially the
Carolingian dynasty
The Carolingian dynasty (; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charlemagne, grandson of mayor Charles Martel and a descendant of the Arnulfing and Pi ...
, Eastern Low Franconian underwent much influence from the neighbouring High German languages. This resulted among other things in the partial participation of Eastern Low Franconian in the
High German consonant shift
In historical linguistics, the High German consonant shift or second Germanic consonant shift is a phonological development ( sound change) that took place in the southern parts of the West Germanic dialect continuum in several phases. It probabl ...
in the 10th and especially the 11th century, which makes the Limburgish-speaking area also part of the so-called
Rhenish fan
The subdivision of West Central German into a series of dialects, according to the differing extent of the High German consonant shift
In historical linguistics, the High German consonant shift or second Germanic consonant shift is a phonologica ...
. It is especially this trait which distinguishes Limburgish from Western Low Franconian.
In the past, all Limburgish dialects were therefore sometimes seen as
West Central German, part of High German. This difference is caused by a difference in definition: the latter stance defines a High German variety as one that has taken part in any of the first three phases of the High German consonant shift. It is nevertheless most common in linguistics to consider Limburgish as Low Franconian.
From the 13th century on, however, the
Duchy of Brabant
The Duchy of Brabant was a State of the Holy Roman Empire established in 1183. It developed from the Landgraviate of Brabant and formed the heart of the historic Low Countries, part of the Burgundian Netherlands from 1430 and of the Habsburg ...
extended its power. As a consequence, at first the western (i.e. spoken until
Genk) and then also the eastern variants of Limburgish underwent great influence of Brabantian. When Standard Dutch was formed out of elements of different Low Franconian dialects in the 16th century, the Limburgish dialects spoken in the
Low Countries
The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...
had little or no influence on this process. As a result, Limburgish – although being essentially a variety of Low Franconian – still has a considerable distance from Standard Dutch with regards to phonology, morphology and lexicon today.
Moreover, being of East Low Franconian origin, it also has many distinctive features in comparison with the West Low Franconian varieties such as the
Hollandic dialect
Hollandic or Hollandish ( ) is the most widely spoken dialect of the Dutch language. Hollandic is among the Central Dutch dialects. Other important language varieties of spoken Low Franconian languages are Brabantian, Flemish ( East Flemish, ...
, the
Brabantian dialect
Brabantian or Brabantish, also Brabantic or Brabantine ( nl, Brabants, Standard Dutch pronunciation: , ), is a dialect group of the Dutch language. It is named after the historical Duchy of Brabant, which corresponded mainly to the Dutch pr ...
and
South Guelderish.
Limburgish and Meuse-Rhenish
In German sources, the dialects linguistically counting as Limburgish spoken to the east of the river
Rhine
), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source1_coordinates=
, source1_elevation =
, source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein
, source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source2_coordinates=
, source ...
are called ''
Bergish'' (named after the former
Duchy of Berg). Not only West of the river Rhine (the former
Duchy of Jülich) they are called "Low Rhenish", which is considered a transitional zone between Low Franconian and
Ripuarian. Thus, formerly German linguists tended to call these dialects
Low German
:
:
:
:
:
(70,000)
(30,000)
(8,000)
, familycolor = Indo-European
, fam2 = Germanic
, fam3 = West Germanic
, fam4 = North Sea Germanic
, ancestor = Old Saxon
, ancestor2 = Middle ...
.
Limburgish is spoken in a considerable part of the German Lower Rhine area, in what linguistically (though not in any sense politically) could be called German Limburg. This area extends from the border regions of
Cleves
Kleve (; traditional en, Cleves ; nl, Kleef; french: Clèves; es, Cléveris; la, Clivia; Low Rhenish: ''Kleff'') is a town in the Lower Rhine region of northwestern Germany near the Dutch border and the River Rhine. From the 11th century ...
,
Aachen
Aachen ( ; ; Aachen dialect: ''Oche'' ; French and traditional English: Aix-la-Chapelle; or ''Aquisgranum''; nl, Aken ; Polish: Akwizgran) is, with around 249,000 inhabitants, the 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, and the 28th ...
,
Viersen and
Heinsberg, stretching out to the
Rhine
), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source1_coordinates=
, source1_elevation =
, source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein
, source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source2_coordinates=
, source ...
river. Modern linguists, both in the Netherlands and in Germany, now often combine these distinct varieties with the Cleves dialects (Kleverländisch). This superordinating group of Low Franconian varieties (between the rivers Meuse and Rhine) is called Meuse-Rhenish (Dutch: ''Maas-Rijnlands'', Welschen 2002), or in German: ''Rheinmaasländisch''.
Both Limburgish and
Low Rhenish
Meuse-Rhenish (German: ''Rheinmaasländisch'', Dutch: ''Maas-Rijnlands'', and French: ''francique rhéno-mosan'') is the modern term for literature written in the Middle Ages in the greater Meuse-Rhine area, in a literary language that is eff ...
belong to this greater
Meuse
The Meuse ( , , , ; wa, Moûze ) or Maas ( , ; li, Maos or ) is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a ...
-
Rhine
), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source1_coordinates=
, source1_elevation =
, source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein
, source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source2_coordinates=
, source ...
area, building a large group of southeastern Low
Franconian dialects, including areas in Belgium, the Netherlands and the German Northern
Rhineland
The Rhineland (german: Rheinland; french: Rhénanie; nl, Rijnland; ksh, Rhingland; Latinised name: ''Rhenania'') is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly its middle section.
Term
Historically, the Rhinelands ...
. The northwestern part of this triangle came under the influence of the Dutch standard language, especially since the founding of the
United Kingdom of the Netherlands
The United Kingdom of the Netherlands ( nl, Verenigd Koninkrijk der Nederlanden; french: Royaume uni des Pays-Bas) is the unofficial name given to the Kingdom of the Netherlands as it existed between 1815 and 1839. The United Netherlands was cr ...
in 1815. At the same time, the southeastern portion became part of the
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. ...
, and was subject to
High German language domination. At the dialectal level however, mutual understanding is still possible far beyond both sides of the national borders (Welschen 2002).
The Meuse-Rhenish dialects can be divided into Northern and Southern varieties. Hence, Limburgish is Southwestern Meuse-Rhenish as spoken in Belgium, the Netherlands and the German Lower Rhine. The Northeastern Meuse-Rhenish dialects as spoken in the Netherlands and in Germany (a little eastward along the Rhine) are unambiguously Low Franconian and can be considered as Dutch. As discussed above, Limburgish straddles the borderline between "Low Franconian" and "Middle Franconian" varieties. These Southwestern Meuse-Rhenish dialects are more-or-less mutually intelligible with the Ripuarian dialects, but have been influenced less by the
High German consonant shift
In historical linguistics, the High German consonant shift or second Germanic consonant shift is a phonological development ( sound change) that took place in the southern parts of the West Germanic dialect continuum in several phases. It probabl ...
(R. Hahn 2001).
Form
Limburgish is far from being homogeneous. In other words, it has numerous
varieties instead of one single
standard form. Between 1995 and 1999, a uniform standard form called AGL (''Algemein Gesjreve Limburgs'', "Generally written Limburgish") was developed and proposed, but found too little support. Today the so-called "Veldeke-spelling" which was first applied in the 1940s is most of the time used to write in a specific Limburgish dialect. In 2000 the parliament of the province of Dutch Limburg enacted a measure establishing the Limburgish Language Council (Raod veur 't Limburgs), a committee which advises the Parliament of Dutch Limburg on measures in relation to Limburgish. In 2003 the Limburgish Language Council adopted a standard orthography for Limburgish. On the basis of this standard orthography the Limburgish Academy Foundation (''Stiechting Limbörgse Academie'') is creating Limburgish-Dutch, Limburgish-English, Dutch-Limburgish and English-Limburgish dictionaries.
Contemporary usage
Limburgish is spoken by approximately 1.6 million people in the
Low Countries
The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...
and by many hundreds of thousands in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
. It is especially in the Dutch province of Limburg that Limburgish is used not only in everyday speech, but also often in more formal situations and on the local and regional radio. According to a recent study by Geert Driessen, in 2011 Limburgish was spoken by 54 percent of the adults and 31 percent of the children. Limburgish has no real written tradition, except for its early beginnings.
Hendrik van Veldeke
Heinrich von Veldeke (aka: , Dutch Hendrik van Veldeke, born before or around 1150 – died after 1184) is the first writer in the Low Countries known by name who wrote in a European language other than Latin. He was born in Veldeke, which was a ...
wrote in a Middle Limburgish dialect. Especially in the Netherlands, the cultural meaning of the language is also important. Many song texts are written in a Limburgish dialect, for example during
Carnival.
Jack Poels writes most of his texts for
Rowwen Hèze in Sevenums, a local dialect within the Northern Limburgish dialects, which is often wrongly assumed to be part of the Limburgish dialect, since the Northern Limburgs dialect is classified in the greater group of South Guelderish dialects and not in the Limburgish dialects.
To what degree Limburgish actually is spoken in Germany today remains a matter of debate. Depending on the city in these parts of Germany, 50% to 90% of the population speak a local or regional form of Meuse-Rhenish, which is either Limburgish or
Bergish, according to A. Schunck 2001. However, this percentage seems to be a clear overestimation, as far as the German situation is concerned. The same holds true for his estimation of the Belgian situation. Moreover, research into some specific variants seems to indicate a gradual process of development towards the national standardised Dutch, especially amongst younger generations. In Belgium, the Limburgish dialects are more endangered than in the Netherlands.
Linguistic versus societal status
In March 1997 the Dutch government recognised Limburgish as a
regional language (Dutch: ''streektaal'') in the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
. As such, it receives moderate protection under chapter 2 of the
European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages
The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (ECRML) is a European treaty (CETS 148) adopted in 1992 under the auspices of the Council of Europe to protect and promote historical regional and minority languages in Europe. However, th ...
.
It has been argued, however, that this recognition was highly politically motivated and done more on
sociolinguistic than purely linguistic grounds. In 1999, the
Dutch Language Union, the ''de facto'' language authority which asserted that it had not been asked for advice, opposed the recognition. From the Limburgish side it has been argued that the arguments put forth against the recognition of Limburgish were not based on linguistic considerations, but rather a concern for maintaining the dominance of the Dutch language.
On the other hand, Limburgish has not been recognised by the German and Belgian national governments as an official language so far. An attempt at recognition, made after Limburgish had been recognised in the Netherlands, failed in the Belgian parliament due to Flemish opposition. Because in Belgium political power is divided according to linguistic lines, recognizing Limburgish as an official language would have had considerable constitutional implications and undermine the small majority Flemish speakers hold over Walloon speakers in the Belgian State.
Subdivisions of Limburgish
Principal dialects
* Limburgish
** East Limburgish
***
Limbrichts dialect (''Lömmerichs'')
***
Sittard dialect (''Zittesj'')
***
Stein dialect (''Steins'')
***
Susters dialect (''Zösters'')
** Central Limburgish
***
Montfortian dialect
Montfortian (locally ''Mofers'' or ''Mofertaans'') is a Central Limburgish dialect spoken in the Dutch town of Montfort. It is closely related to the dialects spoken in Echt, Sint Joost, Hingen, Peij, Slek (Echt-Susteren, Limburg) and Ko ...
(''Mofers'')
***
Roermond dialect (''Remunjs'')
***
Weert dialect
Weert dialect or Weert Limburgish (natively , Standard Dutch: ) is the city dialect and variant of Limburgish spoken in the Dutch city of Weert alongside Standard language. All of its speakers are bilingual with standard Dutch. There are two ...
(''Wieërts'')
***
Maastrichtian dialect (''Mestreechs'')
**
Southeast Limburgish
Southeast Limburgish (Dutch: ''Zuidoost-Limburgs'', Ripuarian: ''Süüdoß-Limburjesch''), also referred to as Southern Meuse-Rhenish, is a subdivision of what recently has been named Meuse-Rhenish. Both terms denote a rather compact grouping of ...
(overlaps more or less with
Ripuarian)
***
Aachen dialect
***
Kerkrade dialect (''Kirchröadsj'')
***
Heerlen dialect
Heerlen (; li, Heële ) is a city and a municipality in the southeast of the Netherlands. It is the third largest settlement proper in the province of Limburg. Measured as municipality, it is the fourth municipality in the province of Limb ...
** West Limburgish
***
Hasselt dialect
Hasselt dialect or Hasselt Limburgish (natively , Standard Dutch: ) is the city dialect and variant of Limburgish spoken in the Belgian city of Hasselt alongside the Dutch language. All of its speakers are bilingual with standard Dutch.
Ph ...
(''Hessels'')
***
Veldeke dialect
The dialect of
Venlo is generally considered a transition dialect between East Limburgish and
Kleverlandish
South Guelderish ( nl, Zuid-Gelders , german: Südgeldersch, ''Kleverländisch'') refers to the easternmost group of Dutch dialects spoken along the lower Rhine (Dutch Nederrijn and German Niederrhein). In its narrower sense, the term refers ...
.
Expanded
' is a concept used in Germany to describe the Limburgish language ("South Low Franconian") of Germany. It is a group spoken in a part of the
Bergisches Land Region near
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in ...
east of the
Rhine
), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source1_coordinates=
, source1_elevation =
, source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein
, source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source2_coordinates=
, source ...
and in the lower Rhine area between the rivers Rhine and
Maas, the latter (called ' or ' "Southeast Low Franconian") shortly behind the Dutch–German border in the vicinity of
Heinsberg and
Nettetal
Nettetal is a municipality in the district of Viersen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated in the Lower Rhine region.
History
Nettetal was founded on January 1, 1970, when the former townships Leuth, Breyell, Hinsbeck and former t ...
. These languages are predominantly seen as belonging to the Limburgish language group.
They were also referred to as the ''East Limburgish'' group. It encompasses the varieties of Limburgish spoken in Germany. They are also seen as part of the
Meuse-Rhenish language group. Population using one of the languages in the group either name their local variety ''
Bergish'' (in the Region only), or ', or after their village, town, or city ''place''er . People from outside the Rhineland often make less distinctions and use the term
Rhinelandic for large set of varieties of languages.
The Limburgish group belongs to the Continental West Germanic
dialect continuum
A dialect continuum or dialect chain is a series of language varieties spoken across some geographical area such that neighboring varieties are mutually intelligible, but the differences accumulate over distance so that widely separated vari ...
. As usual inside dialect continua, neighboring languages have a maximum of similarities, and speakers being used to the rather small individual lingual differences in their immediate neighborhood perceive them as close, and familiar, while more distant ones become gradually harder to understand with distance. That ends, in the Dutch–German continuum at least, most often with incomprehensible dialects. Isoglosses are so dense in this area that practically every village or town has its own distinct dialect of Limburgish. Large cities such as
Mönchengladbach
Mönchengladbach (, li, Jlabbach ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located west of the Rhine, halfway between Düsseldorf and the Dutch border.
Geography Municipal subdivisions
Since 2009, the territory of Möncheng ...
,
Krefeld
Krefeld ( , ; li, Krieëvel ), also spelled Crefeld until 1925 (though the spelling was still being used in British papers throughout the Second World War), is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located northwest of Düsseldorf, ...
, and
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in ...
have several local dialect varieties. The named cities have in common, that they are large enough to in part extend outside the area of the dialect group. Thus each has one or more quarters outside, having vernacular languages belonging to adjacent groups, such as Cleverlands or Ripuarian.
A few sample South Low Franconian dialects are: of near , of in , of central , of , of , of in Krefeld, of central , of in , of northern and central , of , of , of , of , of , and many more.
The group combines
Low Franconian properties with some
Ripuarian properties, such as tonal accents, the pronoun "I" translates as ' or ', the word "but" most often as ', all like Ripuarian. Contrasting, "time" is translated as ', "to have" mostly as ', "today" as ', all typical for Low Franconian.
An area close to
Westphalia
Westphalia (; german: Westfalen ; nds, Westfalen ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants.
The territory of the regio ...
called ' is considered to be the area where is spoken. This area is limited roughly by a line . For a more encompassing view, see the article on
Low Rhenish
Meuse-Rhenish (German: ''Rheinmaasländisch'', Dutch: ''Maas-Rijnlands'', and French: ''francique rhéno-mosan'') is the modern term for literature written in the Middle Ages in the greater Meuse-Rhine area, in a literary language that is eff ...
.
' (also called ') is the Dutch term for a group of dialects spoken north of the
Uerdingen line
The Uerdingen Line (german: Ürdinger Linie, Uerdinger Linie, nl, Uerdinger linie; named after Uerdingen by Georg Wenker) is the isogloss within West Germanic languages that separates dialects which preserve the ''-k'' sound in the first perso ...
, i.e. from just south of Venlo upward to the North in the Dutch province of
Limburg. These dialects share many features with both the and
Brabantian dialects and are closer to Standard Dutch than the more southern language varieties (see e.g. Hoppenbrouwers 2001). The term is used by Jo Daan for the entire province north of the Uerdingen line, whereas other linguists use it only for the part that has tonality, the language north of this region then being considered
Kleverlandish
South Guelderish ( nl, Zuid-Gelders , german: Südgeldersch, ''Kleverländisch'') refers to the easternmost group of Dutch dialects spoken along the lower Rhine (Dutch Nederrijn and German Niederrhein). In its narrower sense, the term refers ...
.
The north border of the Limburgish tonality zone lies a little north of
Arcen
Arcen (; li, Árse) is a village in the Dutch province of Limburg. In 2010, it became part of the municipality of Venlo. Previously, it had been part of the municipality of Arcen en Velden and the seat of the town hall ().
In 2001, Arcen had 1 ...
and
Horst aan de Maas
Horst aan de Maas (; li, Haors aan de Maos ) is a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands, in the province of Limburg. In 2010 the municipalities Sevenum and part of Meerlo-Wanssum joined the municipality.
Population centres
America, Br ...
and just above the ''meej/mich'' isogloss, also known as the "mich-kwartier". This makes this Limburgish isogloss the northernmost of all. Venlo lies between the ''meej/mich'' isogloss and the Uerdingen line, so the Venlo dialect is the only one with both forms ''ik'' and ''mich/dich''. All dialects in the Dutch province of Limburg spoken north of the tonality border are South Guelderish in linguistic respect.
The dialects spoken in the most southeastern part of the Dutch province of
North Brabant
North Brabant ( nl, Noord-Brabant ; Brabantian: ; ), also unofficially called Brabant, is a province in the south of the Netherlands. It borders the provinces of South Holland and Gelderland to the north, Limburg to the east, Zeeland to t ...
(i.e. in and around
Budel
Budel is a town in the Dutch province of North Brabant. It is located in the municipality of Cranendonck, 25 km outside Eindhoven. Kempen Airport is located near Budel.
History
It was first mentioned in 779 as in Budilio, and means "plac ...
and
Maarheeze
Maarheeze is a village in the Dutch province of North Brabant. It is located in the municipality of Cranendonck, about 15 km southeast of Eindhoven, near the Belgian and the German borders.
History
The village was first mentioned in 1223 ...
) also have many Limburgish characteristics. An important difference between these dialects and the adjacent ones in the Dutch province of Limburg is, however, that the second-person pronoun ''gij'' is here used instead of ''doe'', as in "purely" Brabantian dialects.
''Centraal-Limburgs'' includes the area around
Maastricht
Maastricht ( , , ; li, Mestreech ; french: Maestricht ; es, Mastrique ) is a city and a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital and largest city of the province of Limburg. Maastricht is located on both sides of the ...
,
Sittard
Sittard (; ) is a city in the Netherlands, situated in the southernmost province of Limburg.
The town is part of the municipality of Sittard-Geleen and has almost 37.500 inhabitants in 2016.
In its east, Sittard borders the German municipa ...
,
Roermond, the eastern half of Belgian Limburg, and the Belgian
Voeren
Voeren (; ) is a Flemish Dutch-speaking municipality with facilities for the French-speaking minority, located in the Belgian province of Limburg. Bordering the Netherlands to the north and the Wallonia region's Liège Province () to ...
area, and stretches further Northeast. Belgian linguists use a more refined classification. Dutch linguists use the term ''Oost-Limburgs'' for the form of Limburgish spoken in an area from Belgian
Voeren
Voeren (; ) is a Flemish Dutch-speaking municipality with facilities for the French-speaking minority, located in the Belgian province of Limburg. Bordering the Netherlands to the north and the Wallonia region's Liège Province () to ...
south of
Maastricht
Maastricht ( , , ; li, Mestreech ; french: Maestricht ; es, Mastrique ) is a city and a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital and largest city of the province of Limburg. Maastricht is located on both sides of the ...
in the Netherlands to the German border. For them, ''West-Limburgs'' is the variety of Limburgish spoken in
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...
in the area east of the Uerdingen line, for example in and around
Hasselt and
Tongeren
Tongeren (; french: Tongres ; german: Tongern ; li, Tóngere ) is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg, in the southeastern corner of the Flemish region of Belgium. Tongeren is the oldest town in Belgium, as the ...
. It includes areas in Dutch Limburg (like
Ool,
Maria Hoop and
Montfort) and Dutch Brabant. The border of ''West-Limburgs'' and ''Oost-Limburgs'' starts a little south of the area between the villages of 's-Gravenvoeren and Sint-Martens-Voeren in the Belgian municipality of
Voeren
Voeren (; ) is a Flemish Dutch-speaking municipality with facilities for the French-speaking minority, located in the Belgian province of Limburg. Bordering the Netherlands to the north and the Wallonia region's Liège Province () to ...
.
Southeast Limburgish
Southeast Limburgish (Dutch: ''Zuidoost-Limburgs'', Ripuarian: ''Süüdoß-Limburjesch''), also referred to as Southern Meuse-Rhenish, is a subdivision of what recently has been named Meuse-Rhenish. Both terms denote a rather compact grouping of ...
(') is spoken in and around
Kerkrade,
Simpelveld,
Bocholtz
Bocholtz (; Ripuarian: is a town in the Dutch province of Limburg. It is a part of the municipality of Simpelveld, and lies about 7 km southwest of Kerkrade. Until 1982, it was a separate municipality.
History
Bocholtz dates back to ...
and
Vaals in the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
,
Aachen
Aachen ( ; ; Aachen dialect: ''Oche'' ; French and traditional English: Aix-la-Chapelle; or ''Aquisgranum''; nl, Aken ; Polish: Akwizgran) is, with around 249,000 inhabitants, the 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, and the 28th ...
in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
and
Raeren and
Eynatten in
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...
. Especially in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
these dialects are usually considered as variants of
Ripuarian, not of Limburgish. According to a more contemporary vision, however, all varieties in a wider half circle some 15 to 20 km around Aachen, including 2/3 of Dutch South Limburg and also the so-called
Low Dietsch
Low Dietsch ( nl, Platdiets, li, Platduutsj, french: francique rhéno-mosan or ) refers to a handful of transitional Limburgish– Ripuarian dialects spoken in a number of towns and villages (e.g., Gemmenich, Hombourg, Montzen, Welkenraedt).
Th ...
area between
Voeren
Voeren (; ) is a Flemish Dutch-speaking municipality with facilities for the French-speaking minority, located in the Belgian province of Limburg. Bordering the Netherlands to the north and the Wallonia region's Liège Province () to ...
and
Eupen
Eupen (, ; ; formerly ) is the capital of German-speaking Community of Belgium and is a city and municipality in the Belgian province of Liège, from the German border ( Aachen), from the Dutch border ( Maastricht) and from the "High Fen ...
in Belgium, can be taken as a group of its own, which recently has been named ''Limburgish of the
''Three Countries Area'''' (Dutch: ', German: '), referring to the place where the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany meet.
Its concept was introduced by Ad Welschen, mainly based on research by Jean Frins (2005, 2006). This variety still possesses interesting syntactic
idiosyncrasies, probably dating from the period in which the old
Duchy of Limburg existed. Jan Goossens defines the northwest boundary of South East Limburgish at the ''lijk-lich'' isogloss. The area between this line and the
Benrath line
In German linguistics, the Benrath line (german: Benrather Linie) is the ''maken–machen'' isogloss: dialects north of the line have the original in ''maken'' (to make), while those to the south have the innovative (''machen''). The Line runs f ...
is called Ripuarian-Limburgish. The area between the Benrath line and the ''aat-alt'' isogloss is then called Aachens or Limburgish-Ripuarian.
In Germany, it is consensus to class it as belonging to
High German varieties. In order to include this variety properly a more encompassing concept is needed. The combination of
Meuse-Rhenish and Ripuarian, including their overlapping transitional zones of
Southeast Limburgish
Southeast Limburgish (Dutch: ''Zuidoost-Limburgs'', Ripuarian: ''Süüdoß-Limburjesch''), also referred to as Southern Meuse-Rhenish, is a subdivision of what recently has been named Meuse-Rhenish. Both terms denote a rather compact grouping of ...
and
Low Dietsch
Low Dietsch ( nl, Platdiets, li, Platduutsj, french: francique rhéno-mosan or ) refers to a handful of transitional Limburgish– Ripuarian dialects spoken in a number of towns and villages (e.g., Gemmenich, Hombourg, Montzen, Welkenraedt).
Th ...
, will do.
Orthography
Limburgish has many varieties hence there isn't a standard written form. However the Limburgish Language Council has adopted a standard orthography for Limburgish since 2003 and it is used in its websites as well as dictionaries. This is the form presented below.
Alphabet
Limburgish orthography
= Digraphs
=
= Monophthong vowels
=
Diphthongs vowels
Phonology
The sound inventory below is based on the variety of West-Limburgs spoken in Montfort.
Consonants
* may not show up in the Hasselt dialect, but is common in other Limburgish dialects, e.g. ''zègke'' (Dutch: ''zeggen'') "to say".
* Other Limburgish dialects also have the following sounds: (landj); (tenj, teeth).
* is realized as in Belgian Limburgish.
* is a common allophone of , especially in coda position. It is rare in the Montfortian dialect.
* and are allophones of and , occurring in a front-vowel environment. This is termed ''
Soft G
In the Latin-based orthographies of many European languages, the letter is used in different contexts to represent two distinct phonemes that in English are called hard and soft . The sound of a hard (which often precedes the non-front vowel ...
'' in Dutch dialectology.
* is an allophone of . In some dialects, it may be the usual realization of .
* In most modern dialects, is
uvular.
Overall, Limburgish dialects tend to have more consonants than Dutch. They also tend to have more vowels. According to
Peter Ladefoged
Peter Nielsen Ladefoged ( , ; 17 September 1925 – 24 January 2006) was a British linguist and phonetician.
He was Professor of Phonetics at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he taught from 1962 to 1991. His book '' A Cour ...
, the vowel inventory of the dialect of Weert is perhaps the richest in the world. It has 28 vowels, among which there are 12 long monophthongs (three of which surface as centering diphthongs), 10 short monophthongs and 6 diphthongs.
In most of the Limburgish dialects spoken to the southeast of
Panningen—for example those of Roermond, Sittard and Heerlen— appears at the beginning of words in the consonant clusters ''sp'', ''st'', ''sl'', ''sm'', ''sn'' and ''zw''. The same sound is realized as elsewhere (e.g. ''sjtraot''/''straot'', "street"). This is not the case, however, in the dialects of for example Venlo, Weert, Maastricht, Echt, Montfort and Posterholt.
Vowels
Monophthongs
* only occurs in unstressed syllables.
* are realised as before alveolar consonants.
Diphthongs
The diphthongs occur, as well as combinations of + . only occurs in French loanwords and
interjections.
is realized as before alveolar consonants. can be realized as or . In the dialect of
Geleen, is realized as and as . In many dialects such as that of Maastricht and Sittard, the long vowel in Dutch
cognate
In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words in different languages that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymological ancestor in a common parent language. Because language change can have radical ef ...
s is most of the time realized as , as in ''nao'' ("after", "to, towards"). The Standard Dutch equivalents are ''na'' and ''naar'' .
In about 50 Belgian Limburgish dialects, the rounded front vowels are unrounded to in most native words. They are retained in French loanwords such as ''dzjuus'' .
Tone
Many dialects of Limburgish (and of Ripuarian) have a
pitch accent
A pitch-accent language, when spoken, has word accents in which one syllable in a word or morpheme is more prominent than the others, but the accentuated syllable is indicated by a contrasting pitch ( linguistic tone) rather than by loudness ...
, having two different accents used in stressed syllables. The difference between these two accents is used for differentiating both various grammatical forms of a single
lexeme and
minimal tone pairs one from the other.
With specific regards to Limburgish, these two accents are traditionally known as ''sjtoettoen'' ("push tone") and ''sjleiptoen'' ("dragging tone"). The dragging tone is
lexical while the push tone is not. For example, ''daãg'' with a dragging tone means "day" in Limburgish, while in many Limburgish dialects ''daàg'' with a push tone is the plural form, "days" (in addition, can also be articulated in a neutral tone as a third possibility. In this case, it means "bye-bye").
This difference is grammatical, but not lexical. An example of a lexical difference caused by dragging tone is the word ''biè'' which is articulated with a push tone and means "bee", forming a tonal minimal pair with ''biẽ'', which is articulated with a dragging tone and means "at".
Pitch accent in comparison with "real" tonality
However, this feature
cannot be compared to the "real"
tone systems such as for example that of
Chinese or
Vietnamese, the number of
tone contour
A tone contour, or contour tone, is a tone in a tonal language which shifts from one pitch to another over the course of the syllable or word. Tone contours are especially common in East, Southeast Asia, West Africa, Nilo-Saharan languages, Kh ...
s and their division being far more restricted in Limburgish than in these languages. Other
Indo-European languages
The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the overwhelming majority of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and the northern Indian subcontinent. Some European languages of this family, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, D ...
with a pitch accent include
Lithuanian,
Latvian,
Swedish,
Norwegian, Standard
Slovene (only some speakers), and
Serbo-Croatian
Serbo-Croatian () – also called Serbo-Croat (), Serbo-Croat-Bosnian (SCB), Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian (BCS), and Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian (BCMS) – is a South Slavic language and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia an ...
.
Most of these languages being spoken at the borders of Europe, it has been suggested that tonality once was present in
Proto-Indo-European
Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. Its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-European languages. No direct record of Proto-Indo ...
, and that its disappearance would have spread from the center of the European continent. However, it is generally accepted that this system was already lost in
Proto-Germanic
Proto-Germanic (abbreviated PGmc; also called Common Germanic) is the reconstructed proto-language of the Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages.
Proto-Germanic eventually developed from pre-Proto-Germanic into three Germanic br ...
. A more plausible explanation of the origin of the Limburgish/Ripuarian tone system is that it originated in the Middle Ages from the
apocope
In phonology, apocope () is the loss ( elision) of a word-final vowel. In a broader sense, it can refer to the loss of any final sound (including consonants) from a word.
Etymology
''Apocope'' comes from the Greek () from () "cutting off", fro ...
of plural
schwa
In linguistics, specifically phonetics and phonology, schwa (, rarely or ; sometimes spelled shwa) is a vowel sound denoted by the IPA symbol , placed in the central position of the vowel chart. In English and some other languages, it rep ...
s in the dialect of
Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...
(
Kölsch). This change necessitated at its turn a somewhat different articulation of the preceding vowel in the singular form, which was lengthened as in German but only to a limited extent, in order to keep on distinguishing the singular from the plural forms. This specific way of vowel lengthening may finally have resulted in the dragging tone.
Particular local features
=Bitonality
=
It has been proven by speech analysis that in the Belgian Limburgish dialect of
Borgloon
Borgloon (; french: Looz, ; li, Loeën) is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg. On January 1, 2006, Borgloon had a total population of 10,697. The total area is 51.12 km2 (19.74 sq mi) which gives a populatio ...
, the dragging tone itself is bitonal, while it has also been proved that this is not the case in the adjacent Limburgish dialects of
Tongeren
Tongeren (; french: Tongres ; german: Tongern ; li, Tóngere ) is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg, in the southeastern corner of the Flemish region of Belgium. Tongeren is the oldest town in Belgium, as the ...
and
Hasselt.
=Steeper fall
=
Other research has indicated that the push tone has a steeper fall in the eastern dialects of Limburgish (e.g. those of Venlo, Roermond and Maasbracht) than it has in western dialects. In addition, both the phonetic realisation and the syllable-based distribution of the contrasts between push and dragging tone seem to be
mora-bound in the eastern dialects only. This has been examined especially by Jörg Peters.
=Diphthongization
=
Moreover, in some dialects such as that of Sittard and Maastricht, especially the
mid and
high
High may refer to:
Science and technology
* Height
* High (atmospheric), a high-pressure area
* High (computability), a quality of a Turing degree, in computability theory
* High (tectonics), in geology an area where relative tectonic uplift t ...
vowels tend to
diphthongize when they have a push tone. So in the dialect of Sittard means "to choose" while in the dialect of
Maasbracht
Maasbracht (; li, Brach ) is a town in the southeastern Netherlands. It was a separate municipality until 1 January 2007, when it became a part of the new municipality of Maasgouw.
History
The village was first mentioned in 1265 as "de Bragth ...
no diphthongization takes place, so means the same here. This difference has been examined in particular by Ben Hermans and Marc van Oostendorp.
Other examples include plural
* ''steĩn'' "stone"
* ''steìn'' "stones"
and lexical
* "grave"
* "hole next to a road"
Verbs distinguish mood with tone:
* "We conquer!"
* "May we conquer!"
The difference between push tone and dragging tone may also purely mark grammatical
declension
In linguistics, declension (verb: ''to decline'') is the changing of the form of a word, generally to express its syntactic function in the sentence, by way of some inflection. Declensions may apply to nouns, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, and ...
without there being any difference in meaning, as in the dialect of Borgloon: ''gieël'' ("yellow", with dragging tone) as opposed to ''en gieël peer'' ("a yellow pear", with push tone). This tonal shift also occurs when the adjective gets an inflectional ending, as in ''nen gieëlen appel ("a yellow apple").
In some parts of Limburg, the tonal plural is being replaced with the Dutch forms among the younger generation, so that the plural for ''daag'' becomes ''dage'' ().
Samples
The sample texts are readings of the first sentence of
The North Wind and the Sun.
Phonetic transcription (Hasselt, West Limburgish)
Orthographic version (Hasselt, West Limburgish)
Phonetic transcription (Maastricht, Central Limburgish)
Orthographic version (Maastricht, Central Limburgish)
Grammar
Nouns
Gender
Limburgish has three grammatical genders. In some of the Limburgish dialects, is used before masculine words beginning with ''b'', ''d'', ''h'', ''t'' or with a vowel and in many other dialects is used before all masculine words. In most dialects, the indefinite article is for masculine nouns, for feminine nouns and or for neuter nouns. Without stress, these forms are most of the time realized as , and .
Plural
For some nouns, Limburgish uses
simulfix
In linguistics, a simulfix is a type of affix that changes one or more existing phonemes (usually vowels) in order to modify the meaning of a morpheme.
Examples of simulfixes in English are generally considered irregularities, surviving results of ...
es (i.e.
umlaut) to form the plural:
* – (brother – brothers)
* – (shoe – shoes): note this can also be 'sjoon' with (pushing tone).
Plural and diminutive nouns based on Umlaut start to prevail east towards Germany. However, towards the west, the phonemic distinction between dragging and pushing tone will stop just before
Riemst
Riemst (; li, Riems) is a small town and a municipality in the Belgian province of Limburg. Riemst is in the Flemish speaking area of Belgium.
On January 1, 2018 Riemst had a total population of 16,665. The total area is 57.88 km² which ...
.
Diminutives
The diminutive suffix is most often ''-ke'', as in Brabantian, or ''-je''/''-sje'' after a dental consonant. For some nouns an umlaut is also used and in ''breurke'' for 'little brother' and ''sjeunke'' for 'little shoe'.
Adjectives
According to their declension, Limburgish adjectives can be grouped into two classes. Adjectives of the first class get the ending ''-e'' in their masculine and feminine singular forms and always in plural, but no ending in their neuter singular form. When combined with a masculine noun in singular adjectives may also end on ''-en'', under the same phonological conditions which apply to articles. To this class belong most adjectives ending on a , ''-d'', ''-k'', ''-p'', ''-t'' or ''-s'' preceded by another consonant or with one of the suffixes , and . The other declension class includes most adjectives ending on ''-f'', ''-g'', ''-j'', ''-l'',''-m'',''-n'', ''-ng'', ''-r'', ''-w'' or ''-s'' preceded by a vowel; these adjectives only get the ending in their masculine singular form.
When used as a
predicate
Predicate or predication may refer to:
* Predicate (grammar), in linguistics
* Predication (philosophy)
* several closely related uses in mathematics and formal logic:
**Predicate (mathematical logic)
**Propositional function
**Finitary relation, o ...
, Limburgish adjectives never get an ending: (Maastrichtian: "That man is crazy"). Except for neuter adjectives which sometimes get -t: "'t Eint of 't angert", though this is dying out.
Pronouns
Personal pronouns
Possessive pronouns
In the masculine singular forms of ''mien'', ''dien'', ''zien'' and ''oos'', final ''-n'' is added under the same phonological conditions which apply to articles and adjectives. Deletion of the final ''-n'' in the neuter forms of ''mien'', ''dien'', ''zien'' no longer occurs in the dialect of Venlo and is also disappearing in the dialect of Roermond.
Demonstrative pronouns
The most common demonstrative pronouns in Limburgish are:
Vocabulary
Most of the modern Limburgish vocabulary is very similar to that of
Standard Dutch or to that of
Standard German
Standard High German (SHG), less precisely Standard German or High German (not to be confused with High German dialects, more precisely Upper German dialects) (german: Standardhochdeutsch, , or, in Switzerland, ), is the standardized variety ...
due to a heavy influence from the two. However, some of the basic vocabulary is rooted in neighboring
Central German
Central German or Middle German (german: mitteldeutsche Dialekte, mitteldeutsche Mundarten, Mitteldeutsch) is a group of High German dialects spoken from the Rhineland in the west to the former eastern territories of Germany.
Central German d ...
dialects.
Historically, the vocabulary of the varieties of Limburgish spoken within current Belgian territory has been more influenced by
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
than that of the Limburgish dialects spoken on Dutch and German soil, as appears form words such as ''briquet'' ("cigarette-lighter"), ''camion'' ("truck") and ''crevette'' ("shrimp"). The language has similarities with both German and Dutch, and
Hendrik van Veldeke
Heinrich von Veldeke (aka: , Dutch Hendrik van Veldeke, born before or around 1150 – died after 1184) is the first writer in the Low Countries known by name who wrote in a European language other than Latin. He was born in Veldeke, which was a ...
, a medieval writer from the region, is referred to as both one of the earlier writers in German and one of the earliest writers in Dutch.
See also
*
Limburgish Wikipedia
*
Low Dietsch
Low Dietsch ( nl, Platdiets, li, Platduutsj, french: francique rhéno-mosan or ) refers to a handful of transitional Limburgish– Ripuarian dialects spoken in a number of towns and villages (e.g., Gemmenich, Hombourg, Montzen, Welkenraedt).
Th ...
*
Low Rhenish
Meuse-Rhenish (German: ''Rheinmaasländisch'', Dutch: ''Maas-Rijnlands'', and French: ''francique rhéno-mosan'') is the modern term for literature written in the Middle Ages in the greater Meuse-Rhine area, in a literary language that is eff ...
*
Meuse-Rhenish
*
Southeast Limburgish
Southeast Limburgish (Dutch: ''Zuidoost-Limburgs'', Ripuarian: ''Süüdoß-Limburjesch''), also referred to as Southern Meuse-Rhenish, is a subdivision of what recently has been named Meuse-Rhenish. Both terms denote a rather compact grouping of ...
/Southern Meuse-Rhenish
Notes
References
Sources
* Bakkes, Pierre (2007): ''Mofers Waordebook''.
*
*
* Driessen, Geert (2012):
Ontwikkelingen in het gebruik van Fries, streektalen en dialecten in de periode 1995-2011'. Nijmegen: ITS.
*Frins, Jean (2005): ''Syntaktische Besonderheiten im Aachener Dreilãndereck. Eine Übersicht begleitet von einer Analyse aus politisch-gesellschaftlicher Sicht''. Groningen: RUG Repro
ndergraduate Thesis, Groningen University
*Frins, Jean (2006): ''Karolingisch-Fränkisch. Die ''plattdůtsche'' Volkssprache im Aachener Dreiländereck''. Groningen: RUG Repro
aster's Thesis, Groningen University
*
*
**
*
*
*
*Welschen, Ad 2000–2005: Course ''Dutch Society and Culture'', International School for Humanities and Social Studies ISHSS, Universiteit van Amsterdam.
Further reading
*
*
*
*
External links
On Limburgish Tones (in Dutch)Map of dialects spoken in Dutch LimburgLimburgish Wiktionary – De Limburgse WiktionairLimburgish Academy Foundation (Stiechting Limbörgse Academie)with dictionaries Limburgish-Dutch, Limburgish-English, Dutch-Limburgish and English-Limburgish and a history of the Limburgish language
Veldeke Genk (in Genk dialect and Dutch)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Limburgish Language
Languages of Belgium
Languages of the Netherlands
Languages of Germany
Limburg (region)
Low Franconian languages
Subject–object–verb languages
Tonal languages
Verb-second languages
Culture of Limburg (Netherlands)
Limburg (Belgium)
Liège Province
Rhineland